No pain, No gain?

Pain is your body’s warning sign that something is wrong. It is never something to be ignored, forced through, or medicated over, while you continue to live the same lifestyle. This blog focuses on joint pain and some natural supports that may help you make some emotional and dietary changes to care for your body.

Pain, inflammation and restricted movement of the joints can be caused by arthritis. There are three types of arthritis; osteoarthritis is wear and tear to the joints, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the immune cells attack healthy joint tissue, and psoratic arthritis is inflammation in the body of people who suffer with psorosis. Joint pain can also occur from an injury, strain, sprain or dislocation.

Our joints allow us movement and freedom. If you are restricted in your movement, by a painful joint, this implies that you have no choice. You are limited by your circumstances and feel trapped in your current situation. Perhaps you feel you have become a victim, trapped in life and unsure how you got there. The inflammation suggests that you are angry and frustrated, critical of yourself for not being able to keep up with what you used to do.

If you feel that there is emotional stress creating your joint pain then try repeating the following affirmations morning and evening:

My potential is unlimited.

I always have a choice.

The universe only sends me what I can handle.

Nutrition can play a big role in balancing your body when it is in pain.

Fish oils are great for joint health and oily fish such as salmon and tuna also contain Vitamin D.

Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E can help protect the cell walls, so eat a variety of colourful fruit and vegetables.

Glucosamine and chondroiton supplements are particularly beneficial for osteoarthritis.

Turmeric can help reduce inflammation

Foods in the deadly nightshade family can aggravate the pain of arthritis. Avoid potato, tomato, chilli, capsicum and eggplant.

Sugar can be a big driver of inflammation in the body and should be avoided where possible.

Case study

James had suffered from psoratic arthritis for ten years but had only been diagnosed for a year.

He had pain in all his joints, with the fingers being worst affected. James worked as a massage therapist and his future was becoming uncertain as the pain could force him to stop work.

His body asked for vitamin D and although he lived in a sunny country James spent most of his time indoors and had little chance to go to the beach. I recommended a vitamin D supplement as there is interesting research showing results with psoratic arthritis patients taking vitamin D.

James’ sugar levels were unstable and he confessed to having several coffees with sugar in a day. He also sucked sweets at work to freshen his breath. I advised him to stop all sugar and coffee to try to reduce the inflammation in his joints.

His heart chakra needed the colour green to balance it, which made James laugh as he had recently rebranded his business logo in green and had been feeling very drawn to the colour. The heart chakra can be helped by forgiveness and James explained that he had never forgiven his elder brother for ignoring him and not wanting to play with him when they were growing up. We discussed that although his brother’s behaviour was hurtful and unacceptable, forgiving him did not mean condoning and justifying this, but that it meant James would be free of the hurt he felt. James imagined his brother in front of him and simply repeated “I forgive you” until he felt a shift in his feelings.

A month later he was a different man. He had no pain, had lost a weight and said he had more energy. A year later he reported to be symptom free of psoratic arthritis.

For more tips on dealing with joint pain naturally please see my book Your Body Has The Answer.